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is Professor, Dept. of Neurological Surgery Brain & Spinal Injury Center at the University of California, San Francisco. In collaboration with Dr. Jacqueline Bresnahan (see below), Dr. Beattie has contributed seminal work in the areas of SCI mechanisms and regeneration, most recently in elucidating the role of programmed cell death (“apoptosis”) in SCI, and he is co-developer of the BBB (“Beattie-Bresnahan-Basso”) scale that is now a standard for measurement of behavioral recovery in animals after SCI. He served on the editorial board of Central Nervous System Trauma, and has chaired international symposia on neural transplantation and neurotrauma. Dr. Beattie received his B.A. in Psychology (Biological) from the University of California, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Neuropsychology from Ohio State University.

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is Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of California, San Francisco. In collaboration with Dr. Michael Beattie (see above), Dr. Bresnahan has contributed seminal work in the areas of SCI recovery mechanisms, synaptic plasticity and regeneration, most recently in elucidating the role of programmed cell death (“apoptosis”) in SCI, and she is co-developer of the BBB (“Basso-Beattie- Bresnahan”) scale that is now a standard for measurement of behavioral recovery in animals after SCI. She is past President of the Neurotrauma Society, serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Neurotrauma, Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, and the Neurotrauma Society Newsletter, and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation. Dr. Bresnahan received her B.A. in Psychology and Biology from Kent State University, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Physiological Psychology from Ohio State University.

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is Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Neurological Surgery and Neurology at the University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL. Dr. Bunge’s research focuses on the development and repair of neural tissue, particularly by the application of cultured Schwann cell grafts and various nerve growth factors. Mary Bunge has contributed information on the mechanisms of axonal growth by focusing on the leading tips of lengthening nerve fibers in culture. Both Mary and her husband, Richard Bunge, have been pioneers in neural cell-extracellular matrix interactions: they delineated a number of interactions that take place between the different cell types and the extracellular matrix of the peripheral nervous system. She has served on the Editorial boards of the Journal of Cell Biology and Journal of Neurocytology and is the recipient of the 1996 Wakeman Award for her seminal contributions to the field of spinal cord injury repair. Dr. Bunge received her B.S. in Biology from Simmons College, her M.S. in Medical Physiology and Ph.D. in Zoology/Cytology from the University of Wisconsin Medical School, and her Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Developmental Neurobiology at the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. She was voted one of three Florida Women of Achievement in 2002. Dr. Bunge has been a member of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation Research Consortium since 1995 and holds a Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award for 1998-2005. In 2003, she was named the Christine E. Lynn Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience.

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is Professor of Neurology, and Neurobiology and Behavior at the University of California, Irvine. He is also the Director of the Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia. His research focus is on programmed cell death in the CNS, and on beta amyloid-associated neurotoxicity. Among other honors, Dr. Cotman has received the Bristol Myers Neuroscience Research Award, the Pattison Prize in Neuroscience, and the Camhi Research Award of the American Paralysis Association (APA). He has published nearly 600 papers in the field of neuroscience and serves on several editorial boards, including Journal of Neurochemical Research, Journal of Biological Chemistry and Central Nervous System Trauma. Dr. Cotman also is past Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Council of the APA, and continues to serve as a Scientific Advisor. He received his B.A. in Chemistry from Wooster College, and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Indiana University.

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is Chairman of the Cambridge University Centre for Brain Repair, Chairman of the Scientific Committee of Spinal Research, and Director of Medical Studies at King’s College Cambridge. He trained in medicine at Oxford University and St. Thomas’ Hospital, and then practiced for four years, in autoimmune disease, before going into basic research. He began his research on the repair of the damaged brain and spinal cord while at the Salk Institute in California, and continued when he came to Cambridge University. His main interest has been the inhibition of nerve fiber regeneration by scar tissue. He has also worked on brain grafting, brain development and stem cells. Dr. Fawcett recently gained the distinction of being the first winner of the Ulrich Schellenberg Prize from the Institut International de Recherche en Paraplegie for his work on regeneration of the spinal cord.

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is Professor of Cell Biology and Neuroscience in the Division of Life Sciences at Rutgers University and Director of the W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience. He is the discoverer of the Ng-CAM protein, a chick homologue of L1. He is a leading researcher of cell adhesion molecules in the nervous system and their roles in CNS development and regeneration. Dr. Grumet received his B.Sc. in Physics and Biology from, respectively, The Cooper Union and New York University, his Ph.D. in Biophysics at Johns Hopkins University, and did his Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Developmental and Molecular Biology at The Rockefeller University.

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is Norman J. Stupp Professor of Neurology, Professor of Molecular Biology and Pharmacology, and Co-Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis. He is preeminent in the field of neurotrophic factors, and in the mechanisms and prevention of programmed nerve cell death. Dr. Johnson has received a Jacob Javits Neurosciences Investigator Award from NINDS, a MERIT Award from the NIA, and a Decade of the Brain Medal from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. His editorial board service includes Neuron, Journal of Neuroscience, Synapse, and Journal of Neurotrauma. He is a Section Editor for Neurobiology of Aging and Experimental Neurology. Dr. Johnson received his B.Sc. in Pharmacy, and his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Maryland.

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is Professor of Biomedical Genetics at the Department of Biomedical Genetics, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY. Dr. Noble is a world leader in the areas of stem cell biology, CNS myelin repair, glial progenitor cells, the effects of metabolic regulators on cellular function and CNS regeneration. He is a recipient of the Jean Monnet Prize of the European Neurological Society, and serves on the editorial boards of, among others, Developmental Neuroscience, International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience and Glia. Dr. Noble received his B.A. in Biology and Philosophy from Franklin and Marshall College, and his Ph.D. in Genetics from Stanford University.

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is Professor of Neurobiology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology, University of Hamburg. Dr. Schachner is the discoverer of the L1 protein, a promoter of axonal outgrowth, and the L2/HNK-1 carbohydrate, a critical motor neuron guidance factor. Her research focus is on cell adhesion molecules in the nervous system, and their role in nerve cell regeneration. She serves on the editorial boards of numerous scientific journals, including the Journal of Neurobiology, Brain Research, Molecular Brain Research, Journal of Neuroscience and the Journal of Neuroimmunology. Dr. Schachner’s publications are among the 100 most-cited in neuroscience worldwide and among the 20 most-cited in natural sciences from Germany, according to ISI (Institute for Scientific Information, monitored from 2000 to 2003). Dr. Schachner received her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at the University of Tubingen, and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Max-Planck Institute in Munich. She was awarded the Prize of the German Society for Spinal Cord Regeneration in 2000.

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is Professor of Neurosciences at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Silver is a world authority on neuroglial cells, extracellular matrix and nerve regeneration, particularly in relation to spinal cord injury. He is associate editor of Experimental Neurology, and serves on the editorial boards of Glia, the Journal of Neurobiology, and Restorative Neurobiology and Neuroscience. He is a member of the Scientific Committee of the International Spinal Research Trust and serves on the Medical Advisory Board of the Daniel Heumann Fund. He has served as Chairman of the Workshop on New Developments in Spinal Cord Injury: Acute Interventions and Neural Grafts, sponsored by the U.S. Congress. Dr. Silver received his B.S. in Biology from Cleveland State University, and his Ph.D. in Anatomy from Case Western Reserve University. He is the recipient of the 2003 Ameritec Prize for a significant accomplishment toward a cure for paralysis.

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is Professor of Bioengineering and Associate Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Utah. He is recognized for his work in various CNS tissue engineering applications and for his contributions to understanding how CNS tissues interact with a broad range of implanted biomaterials. Dr. Tresco holds fifteen issued and pending patents relating to this and other areas of biotechnology. Dr. Tresco is a regular peer reviewer for Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Biomaterials, Experimental Neurology, and other biomedical engineering-related journals. He received his B.A. in Biology from Susquehanna University, his M.S. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Rhode Island, and his Ph.D. in Medical Sciences from Brown University. He is presently the Director of the Keck Center for Tissue Engineering at the University of Utah, and recently inducted as a Fellow into the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering.

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is Professor of Neuroscience and Attending Neurologist at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Dr. Tuszynski has performed pioneering research in the regeneration of CNS axons by use of genetically modified cell grafts, notably in the areas of spinal cord injury and Alzheimer's disease. He is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Silvio Conte Physician-Scientist Award, the Bernard Sanberg Memorial Award for Brain Repair, and the C.U. Ariens Kappers Medal from the Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, the National Paralysis Foundation Spinal Cord Injury Research Award, and the Barbara Haugh Alzheimer's Disease Research Award. He is on the editorial boards of several neurology and neuroscience journals, and serves as a reviewer for, among others, Nature, PNAS, Journal of Neuroscience, Experimental Neurology, Cell Transplantation, and Gene Therapy. Dr. Tuszynski received his B.A. in Biology and his M.D. from the University of Minnesota, and his Ph.D. in Neurosciences from UCSD. He completed his Neurology Residency at Cornell University Medical Center.